Mali

01/21/2014

Click. This is one of those stories you don't mean to read because you're searching for something else, but you see the headline, and then suddenly you're at the end and smiling.

Journalist Alex Duval Smith is in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and has been writing on the conflict both in Mali and neighbouring countries, including the wartorn and often overlooked Central African Republic, where as he wrote in a Guardian piece last week about the "seeds of genocide" that may be sown.

And, he has also found time to write a piece for the BBC about the lost-and-found dog, Kerouac. "The runaway mutt, Kerouac, is not even mine. He came into my life - and ran out of it - two months ago. He and his French owner, Stephane, had parked their camper in my street for a week," he writes. "Despite the risk of kidnapping by al-Qaeda, there is still a breed of traveller that defies warnings by various governments to churn through this region in old lorries."

The dog ran off with a pack of hounds. Stephane left Mali in tears. But the cat dog came back. (Nine lives? Aren't there any good dog sayings?) Alex, became the new owner of the "bumptious slobber pot."

Rukmini Callimachi, the West Africa Bureau Chief for The Associated Press, found a 10-page letter in a Timbuktu building once occupied by members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and wrote this amazing tale about Belomoktar.

It begins:

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — After years of trying to discipline him, the
leaders of Al Qaeda's North African branch sent one final letter to
their most difficult employee. In page after scathing page, they
described how he didn't answer his phone when they called, failed to
turn in his expense reports, ignored meetings and refused time and again
to carry out orders.

Most of all, they claimed he had failed to carry out a single spectacular operation, despite the resources at his disposal.

The employee, international terrorist Moktar Belmoktar, responded the
way talented employees with bruised egos have in corporations the world
over: He quit and formed his own competing group. And within months, he
carried out two lethal operations that killed 101 people in all: one of
the largest hostage-takings in history at a BP-operated gas plant in
Algeria in January, and simultaneous bombings at a military base and a
French uranium mine in Niger just last week.

Beyond the fact that apparently AQIM has expense forms, there is some good intelligence in the document, such as the discussion about ransom for kidnapped Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Guay.

In general, the document confirms the importance of the group's kidnapping operations -- approximately $89 million it states. It also explains why Belmoktar broke off relations with AQIM to form his own group, which reportedly led the January attack against an Algerian gas oil facility, with the help of two Canadians.

But let's face it.. it's the expense forms that are most talked about. It's like a perverse US Weekly magazine feature of "Stars Are Just Like Us." (Just in: Pregnant Reese Witherspoon had a tough time balancing her cell phone and grocery store purchases - Ciao Bella gelato squares and Palapa Azul fruit bars. She shops! She has babies! She eats fruit bars!).

But maybe understanding this strange normalcy of the "corporate" side of the terrorist group is important too. We've had other glimpses into Al Qaeda's operations (and in-fighting) in the documents uncovered in Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound, or discovered when the former leader of Al Qaeda in East Africa was killed in Somalia.

We know the group and its franchises have grappled with branding issues and there are even reports that they've had to adhere to the sex sells adage by trying to recruit on porn sites.

Getting inside the group -- even the business side -- may help counter its operations.

So beyond the ridicule, knowing that AQIM has some form of accounting department could help, in, uh, downsizing.

03/15/2013

For gamers: "Muslim Mali," which pits Islamic militants against the French Air Force in Mali is reportedly taking Internet jihadi forums by storm. And hey, it's a win-win, even if you lose, you supposedly get a message that says "Congratulations, you have been martyred." Foreign Policy's National Security Reporter John Hudsontried the game so you don't have to.

What terror roundup is complete without the rantings of one of the most famous American jihadists - Omar Hammami, aka: Abu Amriki. He is the Alabama native who spent a year in Toronto - long enough to fall in love with Tim Hortons - before joining the fight in Somalia. He reportedly communicates through Twitter, although there has been some doubt as to whether it is really him. Lately, his tweets have been about as exciting - and frequent - as the teenager who wants to tell you about the bagel she had at lunch, or when she's off for a mani-pedi.

Don't bother following "him" on Twitter, but watch for analysis by Clint Watts on his blog Selected Wisdom or J.M. Berger at Intelwire. They have the patience to communicate with him and read the tweets. Berger says he is convinced it is Hammami.

Earlier this month, Yemen's Al Qaeda branch released its 10th edition of the English-language "Inspire" magazine. The much-ridiculed publication known as Al Qaeda's Cosmo, follows a similar format from past editions despite a new editorial board, including some self-help hints, such as avoiding getting petrol on yourself when you're torching cars. Now you know.

02/22/2013

Tip 18 is most entertaining to imagine: "Formation of fake gatherings such as using dolls and statutes to be placed outside false ditches to mislead the enemy."

Al Qaeda . . . setting up a tea party for their dolls in the desert . . . as drones buzz overhead. Thanks to documents found by fleeing militants in Timbuktu, we now know that Al Qaeda had 22 helpful hints like this on how to avoid becoming a drone target.

Not all involved teddy bears and Raggedy Ann, as Associated Press journalist Rukmini Callimachi explains from Timbuktu. Islamic militants reportedly bought bundles of $1.40 grass-woven mats to cover their cars as they fled the ancient city, she writes. Guess glass was harder to come by as Tip 3 recommends: "Spreading the reflective pieces of glass on a car or on the roof of the building."

Recall the salacious details that trickled out selectively after Osama bin Laden was killed - the most feared man in the world was in fact a vainglorious sissy who dyed his beard, downloaded porno and watched reruns of himself while wrapped in a ratty blanket, like a former football star reliving a playoff touchdown.

Counterterrorism analysts and journalists (mea culpa) had a field day with Inspire Magazine, the English magazine of Yemen's Al Qaeda branch until a drone attack killed its American Editorial Board. The terrorist's Cosmopolitan provided environmental tips from bin Laden and "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom," by Al Qaeda's "chef."

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author
of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a
three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on
Twitter @shephardm

02/21/2013

"Al Qaeda" is often used as terrorism shorthand to describe a variety of groups operating throughout Africa - some with direct ties to the organization and its leaders, others that support the group's ideology but operate independently.

Each organization is unique, and sometimes understanding the differences between the groups are as important as understanding the links.

The newest player thrust into the international press this week is Ansaru, a splinter group of the Nigeria-based organization, Boko Haram.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author
of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a
three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on
Twitter @shephardm

02/20/2013

Bystanders stand by a French APC as a French Puma transport helicopter
lands to test the field in the center of Niono, some 400 kms (300
miles) North of Mali's capital, Bamako, on Jan. 20, 2013. JEROME DELAY /ASSOCIATED PRESS

France's Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Drian, told France 2 television Wednesday that French troops will start pulling out of Mali within "a matter of weeks," despite continued clashes with rebels and members of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

This is not unexpected news, although the number of troops leaving Mali is unclear. The New York Times' Steven Erlanger writes in his Tuesday profile of Drian that the minister does not want a repeat of Libya, where a weak regional government was unable to control the chaos that followed the withdrawal of international troops. An excerpt from the Times:

(T)he French are also waiting for European Union military trainers to
help restore the broken Malian Army, a mission approved by Brussels only
on Monday, and the collapsed state itself must be rebuilt. Part of that
process must be a negotiated reconciliation between Bamako and Tuareg
nationalists who had sided with the Islamists and must agree to give up
their demand for independence in return for an undefined autonomy or
federal state.

All this will take many months and require stability, Mr. Le Drian
concedes, and while the French express hope that African forces will
pursue the Islamists into the mountains and deserts of the vast north,
it is highly likely that French special forces will have to continue to
operate on their own and alongside the Africans, with the help of
American surveillance drones.

As for Canada's involvement - litte is known, aside from the C-17 cargo plane on loan and an undefined special forces mission. As Toronto Star columnist Tom Walkom laments, "Mali is the war no one wants to talk about" in Ottawa.

But for those who have followed Mali for years or tracked the fight against Al Qaeda's various franchises elsewhere, the question is not what happens in the next few weeks, or even months, but what's the longterm plan?

History has taught us that military might alone cannot completely vanquish Al Qaeda's groups. Although each organization is unique, and heavily influenced by domestic conflicts and government corruption, the groups all share one trait - patience.

Mali's challenges require a multi-dimensional approach, which looks
beyond simplistic interventionist agendas. The real roots of the current
crisis have been overshadowed by the dominant "war on terror" narrative
presented in the media. Beyond the restoration of order and some form
of stability, Mali requires responsible and legitimate leadership
capable of negotiating long term political solutions.

There is little doubt that if Mali's fundamental problems are not addressed - poverty and resentment in the north, a corrupt and ill-equipped military, and a weak government - AQIM will simply retreat until the time is right to re-emerge.

Michelle Shephard is the Toronto Star's National Security correspondent and author
of "Decade of Fear: Reporting from Terrorism's Grey Zone." She is a
three-time recepient of Canada's National Newspaper Award. Follow her on
Twitter @shephardm

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